Armour In the IIGF

Imperial
Iranian Armored units were supplied with medium and light tanks of American
and British origin, and about 1200 Brithish-maded Chieftain tanks were
being delivered to augment the 780 in the inventory. Armored personnel
carriers were from the United States and the Soviet Union and antitank
missiles from the United States and France.

In 1971, Iran placed an order with Royal Ordnance (RO) of the UK for
707 modified Chieftain Mk 3 and Mk 5 MBTs, plus a quantity of armoured
recovery vehicles (ARVs) and armoured vehicle-launched bridges (AVLBs)
based on the Chieftain MBT chassis, all of which were delivered by early
1978. Most of these were built by RO Leeds, subsequently taken over
by Vickers Defence Systems, which built all the ARVs. Iran also took
delivery of 187 improved Chieftains called the FV4030/1 (a development
of the Chieftain Mk 5 used by the British Army) for it's operational
needs. In all, 187 of the FV4030/1, were supplied.
In 1974, Iran ordered 125 Shir Iran 1 (FV4030/2s) and 1,225 Shir Iran
2 (FV4030/3s) MBTs for delivery from 1980 - but the order was cancelled
in 1979 after the fall of the Shah and before deliveries could begin
from Royal Ordnance Leeds.
If the Shir 2 MBTs had been delivered, the Iranian Army would have had
the best-protected MBT in the region because the hull and turret incorporated
the advanced Chobham armour system for a high level of battlefield protection
over the frontal arc. In 1979, Jordan bought 274 Shir 1 MBTs, designated
the Khalid. After the Iranian Revolution the "Shir Iran 2"
project was taken over by the British Army and the end result was Challenger
later redesignated as Challenger 1 in service with the British Army
since 1983.

Continued
development in the Centurion/Chieftain line to produce the
Shir/Iran 2 originally planned for Iranian forces. After the
Iranian revolution, taken over by the British Army. It has
much more powerful engine than the Chieftain and equipped
with excellent Chobham Armor. Challenger 1 took part in Operation
Desert Storm (1991) where the Iraqi forces failed to take
a single vehicle out of combat while Challenger destroyed
roughly 300 Iraqi tanks.

Standard
equipment includes thermal sights, gun stabilization NBC system
as well as mounting points for external fuel tanks at the
rear and Combat Dozer Blade at the front.